Snowblind

FIRST IN THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING DARK ICELAND SERIES. OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD A murder takes place in the isolated Icelandic town of Siglufjörður, where an avalanche has cut off all communication and the unrelenting snow threatens rookie police officer Ari Thór Arason's first investigation… ‘A modern Icelandic take on an Agatha Christie-style mystery, as twisty as any slalom…’ Ian Rankin ’Ragnar Jónasson writes with a chilling, poetic beauty’ Peter James ‘Seductive … Ragnar does claustrophobia beautifully’ Ann Cleeves ________________Siglufjörður: an idyllically quiet fishing village in Northern Iceland, where no one locks their doors – accessible only via a small mountain tunnel. Ari Thór Arason: a rookie policeman on his first posting, far from his girlfriend in Reykjavik – with a past that he’s unable to leave behind.

When a young woman is found lying half-naked in the snow, bleeding and unconscious, and a highly esteemed, elderly writer falls to his death in the local theatre, Ari is dragged straight into the heart of a community where he can trust no one, and secrets and lies are a way of life. An avalanche and unremitting snowstorms close the mountain pass, and the 24-hour darkness threatens to push Ari over the edge, as curtains begin to twitch, and his investigation becomes increasingly complex, chilling and personal. Past plays tag with the present and the claustrophobic tension mounts, while Ari is thrust ever deeper into his own darkness – blinded by snow, and with a killer on the loose.

Taut and terrifying, Snowblind is a startling debut from an extraordinary new talent, taking Nordic Noir to soaring new heights. ________________ ‘His first novel to be translated into English has all the skilful plotting of an old-fashioned whodunnit although it feels bitingly contemporary in setting and tone’ Sunday Express ‘A chiller of a thriller’ Washington Post 'A classic crime story seen through a uniquely Icelandic lens. First rate and highly recommended' Lee Child ‘Required reading’ New York Post ’Morally more equivocal than most traditional whodunnits, and it offers alluring glimpses of darker, and infinitely more threatening horizons’ Independent ‘A truly chilling debut, perfect for fans of Karin Fossum and Henning Mankell’ Eva Dolan ‘A stunning murder mystery by one of Iceland’s finest writers’ Yrsa Sigurðardóttir ‘There is a young pretender beavering away, his eye on the crown: Ragnar Jónasson…’ Barry Forshaw ‘As dazzling as its title implies’ William Ryan ‘An isolated community, subtle clueing, clever misdirection and more than a few surprises combine to give a modern day Golden Age whodunnit.

I look forward to the next in the series’ Dr John Curran ‘The best sort of gloomy storytelling’ Chicago Tribune ‘The prose is stark and minimal … bleakly brilliant’ Metro ‘A chilling, thrilling slice of Icelandic Noir’ Thomas Enger ‘This classically crafted whodunit holds up nicely, but Jónasson’s true gift is for describing the daunting beauty of the fierce setting, lashed by blinding snowstorms that smother the village in “a thick, white darkness” that is strangely comforting’ New York Times